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Saturday, November 9, 2013

Being a doctor is one thing, Having a patient is another

Being a doctor is one thing,
Having a patients is another.

One of my professional fees

"You want to ride with me?. " my husband asked. He was
going for his morning rounds at a government hospital. It takes about
20 min to get there, another 30 to 45 minutes for the patient rounds and 20
minutes more to get to our hospital.

"Mmmm, okay." It's wet and gloomy outside. There is a super
storm making a land fall on the other side of the country. I highly
doubt if mothers would come for a check up this days. My clinic time
would be starting late by 30 minutes at the most.

"How many in patients have you got?" He asked. He was
probably wondering why the hell did I not need convincing .

"Three." I was picturing their faces in my mind.

There's Hazel. I saw his first gasp of fresh air at the
operating room approximately a year ago. He's been having a few
asthmatic attacks since then. This is his latest admission , he has
pneumonia. His mom told me that I was to be his godmother on his
baptismal day. So, up to this point ,I'm his unofficial godmother and
officially his pediatrician.

Then, there's Princess. She was admitted a few weeks ago
because of pneumonia. She's a very pretty and sunny 5 year old girl.
Now she's readmitted because she has dengue fever.

And there's Brix. He was 2 when I first saw him and
diagnosed him to have nephrotic syndrome. Brix has had countless times
of relapses and complications. I have encouraged them to see a pediatric
nephrologist every time I see them at the clinic ( and that's like a
zillion times).
And despite my persistent persuasion to push them to do the right
thing, I could not sell the idea of seeing another doctor. (Have I lost
my touch or are they as stubborn as a mule) . Now, at 10 years old, he's
lying on a bed in congestive heart failure. (Did I mention he competes
for second
honors in his class, he ranks third ?)

"I have three, they're not toxic anymore." I said. I was thinking that I lost count on the total number of patients I ever saw. I lost count on types of
diseases I have encountered, and I lost count on patients I did charity.

Being a doctor is one thing,
Having a patient is another.
Getting payment is a totally different matter.